Scrub the clams clean of any grit under cold running water, then put them in a bowl and place them in freezer for 1 hour. This will open them.

When the clams are open, use a butter knife to scrape them into the bowl of a food processor Lay the now empty shells on a foil-lined baking sheet, ready to receive their filling. Pulse the food processor a few times to roughly chop the clams; set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and green pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies start to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the wine, and reduce the liquid back to what the pan looked like before you added the wine. Add the red pepper flakes and black pepper Stir in the reserved chopped clams and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the breadcrumbs and half of the cheese. Depending on how juicy your clams were, you may need more or less breadcrumbs to achieve the right texture. Too juicy, and the filling will cook out of the shells in the oven; too dry and the filling will likely taste dry When you push the filling around in the pan, it should hold its shape but then o slowly melt back down into the pan.

Taste. If you feel like it needs salt, add it, but the clams and the cheese are pretty salty, so be cautious. Add more black or red pepper if you want it a little spicier

Use two teaspoons to loosely pile the filling into the shells, Sprinkle the tops with the other half of the grated cheese. Let the filling breathe! You've got plenty of shells—no need to force the paste into all the crevices.

Bake until the tops are golden and crispy about 10 minutes. Serve hot with lemon wedges

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